Husband charged with murder in wife's disappearance in 2000

MOUNT PLEASANT — A Colorado man has been charged in the cold-case killing of his estranged wife in Mount Pleasant, where they used to live and where she was last seen 17 years ago.

Michael Lee Syperda, 52, was taken into custody without incident Thursday near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, which is about 130 miles west of Denver, according to the Iowa Public Safety Department.

A grand jury in Henry County indicted him Wednesday on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Elizabeth Syperda, who was 22 years old when she disappeared. Court records don't list an attorney for Michael Syperda. Authorities intend to have him extradited to Iowa.

In March of 2017, the investigation into the July 2000 disappearance of Syperda was reopened by the Mount Pleasant Police Department and the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), according to the press release issued Friday.

"Through the case review and interviews, the case was classified as a homicide investigation," the press release indicated. "The findings of the investigation were briefed to the Henry County Attorney’s Office and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.

"Upon review of the report, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and the Henry County Attorney’s Office convened a grand jury to review the evidence and the testimony. On November 29, the grand jury returned a True Bill Indictment on Michael Lee Syperda, 52, for the crime of Murder in the first degree ... a class A felony."

Thursday afternoon Syperda was taken into custody in the area of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, on the arrest warrant out of Henry County. He will be extradited back to Iowa in the next few weeks to face the murder charges.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Syperda faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Ryan Kedley, a DCI special agent, declined to say what led to the arrest after so many years, including whether Elizabeth Syperda's body had been found. But he praised the combined work of law enforcement agencies for the breakthrough in the case.

"We're very, very happy that some sort of resolution has come in this case," Kedley told The Des Moines Register.

Elizabeth Syperda was last seen July 16, 2000, in Mount Pleasant. Family and friends think she may have gone on a walk to meet Michael Syperda, who lived nearby. The two were estranged at the time.

Her home's front door was locked from the outside and all of her belongings were left behind, investigators said.

A month before she disappeared, Michael Syperda was arrested for assaulting his wife and her roommate. He was put on five years of probation in November 2000 after pleading guilty to burglary and domestic abuse.

The Mount Pleasant Police Department and the state Division of Criminal Investigation reopened the investigation in March.

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